promoting health d5.pptx

8/11/2019 PROMOTING HEALTH D5.pptx

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To explain about health promotion and rolepharmacist.


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Community pharmacists are ideallyplaced to act as health promoters. Healthpromotion is commonly perceived as being

about lifestyle change and personal choiceand the pharmacists role tends to bediscussed in that context. However, healthpromotion has a wider meaning,

incorporating a range of actions with thepotential to improve health.


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Pharmacists can offer information and advice about a

range of issues including those highlighted in box :

Smoking cessation

Baby and childhealth Healthy eating Physical activity Drug misuse

Contraception andsexual health

Stress Oral health

Concordance inmedicine- taking (e.g.

for treatments toprevent heart diseaseand osteoporosis

Prevention of accidents Prevention and early

diagnosis of cancer (e.gskin cancer)

Promotion of screeningand vaccinationprogrammes


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Research shows that the public is generally well aware of thehealth risks of smoking. Yet about on third of the populationcontinues to smoke and far from declining, smoking amongstwomen and children is increasing. Why is this ? people maketheir own risk benefit calculations in relations to behavior.Smoking might be seen as the only way of coping with anotherwise unbearable life, and living longer by giving upsmoking may not be an attractive prospect. Thus conceps offuture play a key role. The underlying theme of many healthpromotion messages has focused on extending life. As pitts(1996) puts it, the aim of much preventive health therefore isto substitute an early death, say before the age of 60 years inthe UK, for a later one. Such an outcome may not be

perceived as a benefit and thus an incentive to change bythose who are poor. Consequently, pharmacists need to adapt the message to the

circumstances of the recipient.


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it might be expected that the changes in the public'sknowledge about health would lead to the adoption ofhealthier lifestyles. However, research shows thatproviding information does not in it self inevitably lead tothe expected effect. In particular, providing negative

information about the consequences of behaviours thatare likely to be harmful to health (for example,government advertisements about drug misuse whichwere intended to frighten people into stopping) does notwork. Pharmacists have an important role to play ininterpreting health information and in clarifying areas

where the messages seem to be in conflict or informationhas been misunderstood. An example of this may bemedia presentation of new research findings whichcontradict previous health messages.


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1. Level 1Displaying leaflets on health topics andresponding to request for advice andinformation about health.

2. Level 2

In addition to level 1, offering informationand advice opportunistically and pro-

actively, working in a co-ordinated way withcommunity-based health care workers.


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Numerous pharmacy-based health promotion schemeshave been developed but tend to be small scale,measuring processes rather than health outcomes. Manyof these have demonstrated public acceptance ofpharmacists involvement in health promotion. In the UK, amajor study in one area showed that pharmacy customers

collecting prescriptions were the most likely to expect toreceive general health information in the pharmachy andto value it.

The findings of a qualitative consumer study conducted inAustria in 1996 suggested that while pharmacists wereperceived as close to everyday life, representing a

trustworthy institution and a link to primary health care,they were perceived as primarily concerned with sellingmedicines. Only 10% of consumers perceived thepharmacy as a source of health/ illness related information(compared with 50% for the family doctor).


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There are few published studies of pharmacy health promotion ineurope, an exception being evaluations of campaigns onsmoking, skin diseases and asthma based in swedishpharmacies. Throughout europe, health promotion bycommunity pharmacists has been linked to the wider concept ofpharmaceutical care and forms part of a number of ongoingstudies. Example include training on inhaler technique for

patients with asthma and promoting healthy lifestyles as part ofoverall management of hypertension by pharmacists.

research suggest that while pharmacists themselves arecommitted to involvement in health promotion, the feasibility ofspending time on a one to one basis, in patient-centred health

promotion with their customers, depends on staff skill mix andworking arrangements. In particular, personal involvement in thedispensing process acts as a barrier to spending more time atthe front of the shop talking with customers.


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Pharmacy have the potential to contribute to healthpromotion activities in the community. To achive thispotential, pharmacist will need to develop workingstyles that embrance the notions of negotiation

patnership with the public. Changes in workingarrangements, particularly reducing the amount oftime spent on mechanical and technical aspects ofdispensing, will be a prerequisite to the developmentof the health promotion role. As the publics acces toinformation increases, the pharmacists role ininterpreting and contextualising information willbecome more important.


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Thank You

promoting health d5.pptx

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